8 best gadgets of MWC 2025: Our pick of the top phones, tablets, and more

Mobile World Congress is the world’s biggest phone show where the entire telecoms industry comes together for a week of chatting about connectivity, burgeoning new technologies, and, you guessed it, artificial intelligence. Many of the world’s biggest tech brands use the opportunity to show off the latest innovations in hardware, meaning we often see lots of new phones debut at the show. Here we’ll run you through our eight favorite gadgets launched this week that each received our coveted Best of MWC 2025 Award.

1

HMD Amped Buds

The standard true wireless earbuds formula is pretty well figured out: if you’re buying a pair of earbuds from a company you’ve heard of, you’re likely going to get decent audio, ANC that works pretty well, and a small carrying case with USB-C and most likely wireless charging.

At MWC, though, HMD announced its new Amped Buds, which put a relatively unique spin on the formula: they come with a charging case with an impressive 1,600 mAh capacity. The idea is that you can use the case to top up your smartphone in a pinch. It even comes with reverse wireless charging, so you can charge your phone even if you don’t have a cable. Otherwise, HMD says the case’s beefy battery can power almost 60 hours of listening with ANC before having to plug in.

The HMD Amped Buds will launch soon for £180 in the UK and €200 in Europe; US pricing and availability aren’t known yet.

2

Honor Pad V9

The Honor Pad V9 is a compelling tablet at an affordable price. For €250, the Pad V9 offers a MediaTek Dimensity 8350 chipset, 12 gigs of RAM, and an 11.5-inch display with a resolution of 2,800 x 1,840 and a refresh rate that gets up to 144Hz. It seems like a very capable tablet for the money.

Unfortunately, the Honor Pad V9 won’t be available in the US. Still, in the markets where it’ll be available, it’ll give similarly sized Android tablets and the entry-level iPad a run for their money.

3

Honor Watch 5 Ultra

Another interesting showing from Honor that we won’t get in the States: the Watch Ultra 5. The €279 wearable has a titanium case and a 1.5-inch AMOLED display. It’s also got a 480 mAh battery that Honor says can last an impressive two weeks on a charge.

The downside of the Honor Watch 5 Ultra — aside from the fact that it won’t be available in the US, of course — is that it runs Honor’s MagicOS which is more limited than Wear OS. Still, the hardware’s enviable, and it’s the most interesting wearable we’ve seen at MWC.

4

TCL NXTPaper 11 Plus

TCL’s NXTPaper line has been getting our attention for a while: TCL’s 60 XE NXTPaper 5G phone was one of our favorite gadgets at CES this year. At MWC, TCL showed off more of the NXTPaper 11 Plus tablet — and we’re pretty smitten.

The NXTPaper 11 Plus comes with an 11-inch matte display that tries to replicate the look and feel of an e-reader while maintaining the advantages of an LCD. It’s powered by the midrange MediaTek Helio G100 chipset paired with eight or 12 gigs of RAM — not a powerhouse, but certainly enough for reading and internet browsing.

It’ll launch starting at €249 soon. It’s slated to be available in North America, but pricing and timing haven’t yet been confirmed.

5

Nothing Phone 3a

The Nothing Phone 3a (and the more-powerful Phone 3a Pro) might not be the flagship you’ve been waiting for from Carl Pei’s start-up, but both represent a pretty exciting evolution over last year’s 2a series. With a much more capable chipset, all-new camera systems that introduce the company’s first-ever telephoto sensors, and a new Essential Space feature that pairs with a dedicated hardware key, it’s an exciting lineup. Even better are Nothing’s prices, with both phones available for under $500.

If we have one complaint — aside from the never-ending wait for a true flagship from Nothing, which is supposedly on its way later this year — it’s the company’s US availability. Once again, the Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro will only be sold stateside through a “beta” program, which limits your return window and post-launch warranty support to, well, almost nothing. These both look like exceptional devices on paper, Nothing. Let us buy them through some more traditional channels.

• 

  Nothing Phone (3a)
  

  The Nothing Phone 3a combines a new camera system and an improved processor with some AI-powered features and a larger screen, all for under $400.

  $379 at Nothing
• 

  Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
  

  The Nothing Phone 3a Pro takes everything good about the regular 3a and delivers an even more powertful camera experience.

  $459 at Nothing

6

Samsung Galaxy A56 5G

Another year, another lineup of excellent mid-range devices from Samsung. The Galaxy A56 represents one of the best offerings we’ve seen from the company so far, and unlike last year, it’s actually coming back to the US. The core design screams modern Galaxy, pairing a handful of colors with a triple-lens camera design that looks like a combination of the Galaxy S25’s module with the more three-dimensional bump on the Galaxy Z Fold 5. It’s a nice look, even if the black stands out a little on the more colorful units.

Otherwise, this is basically all you’d need for a typical daily driver, so long as you aren’t a power user. With an Exynos 1580, a 5,000mAh battery, IP67 water and dust resistance, and a 6.7-inch display, it’s hard to figure out what you’re really missing. Throw in years of software support and all the AI tools you could ever ask for (and then some), and the A56 looks like it could be a perfect competitor to Google’s rumored Pixel 9a once it arrives on US shores for $499 later this year.

7

Tecno Spark Slim

Get out of here, Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge. Forget about it, rumored iPhone 17 Air. Tecno — the same company that brought you a pair of modestly-priced foldables — is back with a new eye-catching smartphone design, and this year, it’s all about being slim. With a 5.75mm chassis, this could set the record for the thinnest smartphone in the world, though that appears to be a record that will be in flux for the rest of 2025 and beyond.

It’s also, crucially, a concept phone, which puts it a little out of reach compared to Samsung and Apple. Nevertheless, with a 5,200mAh battery, it’s a particularly impressive piece of tech, and should point to a future where our smartphones feel a whole lot less bulky in our pockets without sacrificing the need for a long-lasting device.

8

Xiaomi 15 Ultra

Xiaomi managed to time the global launch for its latest flagship pretty close to its Chinese unveiling, leaving US-based smartphone geeks to stare on with an ever-deepening sense of jealousy. With a two-tone design that you’ll either love or hate — I sort of like it, to be honest — and a much-improved 200MP 4.3x periscope lens that makes Nothing’s 3a Pro arrangement look positively normal, it’s yet another camera phone you’ll wish we had in the states.

That said, even if the Xiaomi 15 Ultra made it over to the US, you’d be paying for the nose to get it. At roughly $1,600 USD, you have to wonder whether a camera system as good as the one seen here is actually worth it, when a Pixel 8a and a real dedicated camera can be had for around the same amount. Still, this is one surprisingly impressive smartphone — check out former AP editor Dom Preston’s thoughts at The Verge to see some photo samples — one that will keep AP’s Will staring at his Pixel 9 in shame.